Under Douglas's icy stare, the students finally managed to suppress their excitement and stifle their grins, settling into uneasy silence.
Douglas began handing out the parchment test papers.
"This lesson, we'll spend twenty minutes going over the test. The rest of the time, we'll move on to new material."
Once everyone had their papers, Douglas paced the classroom, test in hand.
"Question one… This is a gimme—no need to waste time explaining it! If you got it wrong, copy it out ten times."
A student seated by the wall quietly buried his head in his exam paper.
"Let's look at question two. Hmm… this one: A is obviously wrong, B and C are even more ridiculous, and only a troll would choose E. So the answer is D…"
"Question three is so simple it's not worth discussing."
"Question four—anyone need me to explain? No? Good, let's keep moving…"
But as Douglas glanced around, most students wore blank, shell-shocked expressions.
He raised his voice.
"What's wrong? Did you think I'd spoon-feed you every answer? Or that last week's test was the end of it? I gave you a whole week—did it never occur to you to look up the answers yourselves? Can't you study without a teacher breathing down your neck? You're supposed to be learning for yourselves, not for me!"
The students shivered in their seats.
Douglas jabbed a finger at one of the questions, fuming.
"Look at your answers! The Stinging Hex is a type of curse that stings the victim's skin, leaving a burn-like mark and causing swelling. I asked you: true or false? How many of you got it right? What did you learn in fourth year? Can't you tell the difference between curses and hexes?"
He continued,
"The next question: What type of spell is the Ear-Shrivelling Curse, and what does it do? How many of you answered 'hex'? It's a curse! A curse, people! Can't you tell curses from hexes? These are basic, easy points! Don't underestimate a single mark—in your O.W.L.s, one point could be the difference between 'Acceptable' and 'Exceeds Expectations'…"
The more he spoke, the angrier he became. In his mind, these were fundamental mistakes that simply shouldn't happen.
He couldn't help but wonder what on earth Quirrell and Voldemort had been up to last year. Even if they'd come to Hogwarts to stir up trouble, couldn't they have at least taught something useful…?
Time dragged on. For the students, each minute felt like an hour.
When Professor Holmes finally finished reviewing the last question, the entire class let out a collective sigh of relief.
For a moment, it felt just like being in Potions class—except, unlike Professor Snape, Professor Holmes didn't use cruel words.
Yet somehow, his comments stung even more than Snape's sharpest barbs.
"Your homework: For every question on the test, find the relevant section in your textbook and annotate it next to the question! Next lesson, I'll call on you at random. If you can't answer, you'll copy that question and the textbook explanation ten times!"
A chorus of groans erupted.
Douglas strode to the lectern, took out his own textbook, and glanced at the class.
"What are you staring at me for? Do I have something written on my face? Get your textbooks out. Today we're learning the Shield Charm!"
Once everyone had turned to the correct page, Douglas began,
"From what I've seen over the years, students who can successfully cast the Shield Charm in their O.W.L.s tend to score higher than others. So this is going to be a key spell for us going forward."
"The Shield Charm is a spell that can deflect a wide range of magic. It conjures a magical barrier that repels both spells and physical objects, protecting a specific target or area… Who can tell me the effects of the Shield Charm, and which spells it can't block?"
After the grilling earlier, the students' response time had improved noticeably.
Even the student who'd failed the last test raised his hand, so Douglas called on him directly.
"Very good answer. Looks like you've all done your homework. Five points to Ravenclaw!"
He spent about ten minutes covering the theory behind the Shield Charm.
Then Douglas closed his textbook and addressed the class,
"Now, let's practice the incantation and wand movement. Who wants to volunteer to move the desks aside? All it takes is a simple Moving Charm!"
...
It quickly became clear that the Shield Charm was far from easy to master.
By the end of class, only the class representative and two prefects managed to produce even a feeble barrier—and Douglas shattered each one effortlessly with a silent, wandless Jelly-Legs Jinx.
The students looked thoroughly dejected.
Douglas encouraged them,
"Not bad! Fifteen points to Ravenclaw. It wasn't perfect, but it's a start. If you keep practicing, you'll get there. Everyone else, don't lose heart. If you're struggling, ask someone who's got it down. And remember—keep your O.W.L.s in mind. You can do this!"
"For homework, besides annotating your test, I want an essay from each of you on the Shield Charm—no less than twenty inches."
Another wave of groans.
Douglas smiled benignly.
"Does that seem a bit long? Alright, I'll change the requirement: no less than two feet. One's twenty, the other's two—don't thank me all at once!"
Now the class wasn't groaning—they were in full-on despair.
"Oh no, Professor, you can't!"
"Professor, the problem is the units!"
Douglas's expression turned cold, his voice full of disappointment.
"Trying to haggle with me over homework? Are you writing this for me? Class dismissed!"
As Douglas was about to leave, he noticed the class rep and prefects limping toward the door.
He turned back and added,
"Don't you know the counter-curse for the Jelly-Legs Jinx? Go practice the Shield Charm—and make sure you learn the counter-curse as well. I don't want to see the whole class limping out next time."
With a wave of his hand, the stack of confiscated books floated after him as he left.
The fifth-year Ravenclaws felt like the corridor air had never tasted so free.
When they spotted the incoming second-year Gryffindors—most clutching one or more of Professor Holmes's books—the fifth-years exchanged knowing glances and, with perfect coordination, began chatting loudly:
"Oh, Professor Holmes is amazing—he signed autographs for us as soon as class started!"
"Yeah, as long as you walk up to the podium, he'll sign anything! He's the best!"
The passing second-years glanced at the fifth-years, who didn't even look back.
A strange, secret joy bubbled up inside them.
Especially those holding a Professor Holmes book. Even those without planned to ask the famously kind Professor to sign their textbook's inside cover.
For them, this was the best news imaginable.
Heaven only knew what they'd endured last lesson.
The second-year Gryffindors' first class was Herbology with Hufflepuff. For some reason, Professor Sprout had suddenly required everyone to memorize all the content about Mandrakes before the next class.
From now on, every lesson would require advance memorization. During class, she'd quiz them at random, and anyone who couldn't recite would lose points for their house.
They already felt drained from cramming for Defence Against the Dark Arts in their spare time. Now there was another subject to memorize. Sigh.
At that thought, everyone glanced at Neville.
Did they really need to follow his example—getting up at the crack of dawn to revise in the common room?
...
When they cheerfully entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, Hermione was practically bouncing as she arranged her stack of books on the desk—determined to be the very first to rush up as soon as Professor Holmes appeared.
She had not only the wizarding world edition, but the Muggle edition too.
She'd never imagined Professor Holmes was so brilliant—able to write both versions, and every one of them a masterpiece.
As Hermione fussed with her books, she wondered—should she first ask the Professor whether his magic level matched the "Intermediate," "Advanced," or "Mage" in his novels (surely not "Archmage"—otherwise Dumbledore would be a god)? Or should she just have him sign all her books at once…?
She hadn't decided when—
The sound of footsteps came from the side door!
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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